Child&#39;s chair pad



Feb. 26, 1957 Y T, D. COLE 2,782,839

CHILDS CHAIR PAD Filed April ll, 1955 @fly/MM,

Czzzzor 776:95,

United States Patent015er:

2,782,839 atentetl Feb. 26, 1957 CHILDS CIIAIR .PAD 'f Application April 11, 1955, Serial No. 500,385

3- Claims. (Cl. 15S-#1182) This invention relates to improvements in pads for use in connection with childrens or babies chairs.

Children, particularly when quite young, frequently do not sit in upright positions when in highchairs and/or other chairs and when the upper parts of their bodies thus slump or lay over toward one side or the other, this retards their development and growth to a certain extent. Tying a child in a highchair by means of bands or straps does not entirely remedy this dillculty, and furthermore, many children resent being strapped or tied in highchairs.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a chair pad for use by young children which is so formed that it materially assists the child in maintaining an erect position without requiring the tying or strapping of the child in the chair.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a pad of this kind which is comfortable for the child and which does not restrict movement of his head and shoulders forwardly or interfere with the free use of the hands and arms but at the same time helps the child to maintain a natural upright sitting position.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of one embodiment of the invention and the novel features will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a pad for use in connection with a childs chair.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof, on line 2 2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view thereof, on an enlarged scale, on line 3 3, Fig. 1.

The pad embodying this invention includes a back portion 5 and two side portions or cushions 6 and 7. The back portion is of concave or trough shape in horizontal cross section, in that the back is curved so that the sides thereof extend forwardly to a limited extent. It is necessary that this trough shape be self-supporting so that these forwardly extending sides of the back serve to gently support a child sitting in the chair to prevent its head and shoulders from slipping sidewise into an unnatural position.

In order to accomplish this result it is necessary to incorporate in the pad an insert of suflicient rigidity to maintain the pad in a substantially trough-shape. .In the particular construction shown for this purpose, I have provided a reinforcing member or insert 8 within the back portion of the pad which extends substantially throughout the length and width of the same, this insert being made of a relatively stiff material. For example, this insert may be made of a plate or sheet of metal, of a plastic composition or of any other suitable material which has sufficient rigidity to prevent any substantial deformation thereof when the pad is used by a child. The insert is enclosed in the pad by a suitable outer back layer or sheet 9 which may be of a fabric or of a sheet 2, material, preferably a material which is impervious to "liquids and preferably-of a nature which is vreadily washable. A layer 10 -of cotton padding or other 4padding material isinterposed between the -insert 8 andthe outer back covering 9.

The pad also has a front covering sheet 12 which may be of a material similarto the covering material 9, and thickerpadding 14-is interposed between the covering layer 12 -and the-insert member 8, this padding on the front ofth'e insert member serving to cushion the child and prevent contact of the `child with the relatively hard insert memberS. This padding which covers the front face of the insert member 8 is preferably locatedbetween the outer covering layer 12 and an inner fabric layer 15. The layers '12and 15 are preferably sewn together at intervals by means of vseams extending up and down, as is customary v'ineupholstering,andspreferably another layer 11 of padding or other yielding material is interposed between the insert 8 and the inner sheet member 15. The covering sheet members 9 and 12 and the inner fabric layer 15 may then be sewn together at their outer edges, and the seams covered with suitable binding, as indicated at 17. These sheet members together with some of the padding extend about the edges of the insert member to cushion the same.

I have also found that it is desirable to provide the lower portion of the pad with an increased amount of padding so as to form a somewhat more forwardly extending support for the small of the back of the child, since this causes the child to normally place its shoulders against the upper part of the back where it will receive the benefits of the forwardly curved side portions of the back. For this purpose, I have provided in the lower portion of the back of the pad a part 20 having considerably thicker cushioning between it and the insert so that the part 20 normally extends forwardly from the insert 8 to a considerably greater extent. The inner fabric sheet 15 also extends in back of the main thickly padded portion 20 and finally all of the sheet material extends under the bottom of the insert member 8 as well as over the top thereof. By drawing the sheet material fairly tightly in a vertical direction along the back and front of the insert member, the padding will follow the contour of the insert member. In order to confine the thicker padding in place, horizontal seams 21 are provided at the upper and lower edges of the padded part 20 of the back of the cushion.

Since the more thickly padded member 20 of the pad tends to urge the lower part of the childs back forwardly to a slight extent, it will be obvious that this will cause the upper part of the childs back to lean more readily against the upper portion of the back, and thus additional pressure of the childs back against the back of the pad will tend to keep the childs back in a straight, upward position, due to the shallow trough-shape of the pad.

The side pieces 6 and 7 may be sewn at their rear Y edges to the seams 17 by means of which the several parts of the back of the pad are secured together.

The pad back may be provided at opposite sides thereof with straps or tabs 22 by means of which the pad may be tied to a childs chair and the side members 6 and 7 may also be provided with straps 24 for securing these lto the sides of the chair. If desired, a strap or band may also be provided to extend around the childs waist to hold him in the chair. However, even without such a band, the form of the pad as described tends to hold the child in an upright position, such as has been found important in developing children with straight and strong backs.

The pad described will of course ordinarily be used with a seat cushion on which the child may sit and which may either be formed separately -from the pad as shown, or it may be attached thereto, as desired.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and arrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of theinvention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pad for use in a childs chair and including a back portion formed to extend upwardly from the seat of the chair to above the childs shoulders, said back portion having an insert of suflicient stiffness to prevent any substantial deformation thereof by a child, said insert being curved about a substantially upright axis with the sides thereof extending forwardly to support the upper part of a childs body against tipping sidewise in either direction, padding material extending about said insert and conforming to the shape of said insert, and means for releasably securing said pad to a highchair.

i ananas 2. A pad according to claim ,1, and including flexible side pads secured at their rear ends only to the lower portions of the sides of said forwardly extending back portion and extending forwardly therefrom and of materially less height than said back portion.

3. A pad according to claim 1, having at the lower part of said back portion padding of greater thickness and extending forwardly to a greater extent than at other parts thereof to support the child at the small of its back and to cause the upper part of its back to press rearwardly to a greater extent against the middle part of said back portion.

References Cited in the tile of ,this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 718,524 Ritter Jan. 13, 1903 2,146,085 Mover Feb. 7, 1939 2,468,587 Chase et al Apr. 26, 1949 

